Your Friday Morning Roundup

The Sixers began the week with six draft picks, before it dwindled to five the night of the draft after making a trade with the Lakers.

It began with what appeared to be expected by many fans, including most of the CB staff. The Sixers got the perfect fit for their team in Villanova small forward Mikal Bridges. His mom even works for the team!

It was a perfect story. Bridges would play high school, collegiate, and begin his pro career in his home city. That was until Brett Brown stepped in and called the Suns to get Texas Tech shooting guard Zhaire Smith and a 2021 unprotected first-round pick from the Heat for Bridges.

To make things worse, Bridges was still doing media availability after the report of his trade came out.

Mikal Bridges has yet to learn of his trade to Phoenix and is answering questions about staying home in Philly pic.twitter.com/MIoOlAaUUH

Brett Brown discussed Zhaire Smith and also why he made that trade. Because that pick will come in handy, whether they’ll keep it or ship it off to get a star player, although his team wants to keep him. I think you know which one.

“He has a foundation that is incredibly unique in relation to his athleticism.”

The Sixers did make their second first-round pick, choosing Wichita State point guard Landry Shamet. He shot 44.2% from three last season. That’s good.

In the second round, the Sixers originally chose Creighton shooting guard Khyri Thomas before trading him to Detroit for two second-round picks. They also selected small forward Isaac Bonga, who will be shipped to the Lakers.

The team swapped the 56th and 60th picks with Dallas to move up to 54, taking SMU point guard Shake Milton (Dallas took Louisville PF Ray Spalding and Dayton PF Kostas Antetokounmpo).

Overall, I thought it was a great draft. I wish the Bridges trade would’ve happened before Brett Brown made the selection. But that unprotected first-round pick in three years in Hinkie-esque. It’s gorgeous.

Continuing the draft for a little bit, the Villanova guys had a great night. Besides Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo went to the Bucks at 17 and Omari Spellman went 30th to the Hawks. Jalen Brunson got selected by Dallas at 33.

Deandre Ayton went #1 to the Suns. ESPN’s Chauncey Billups said Ayton reminded him of Joel Embiid. The Process disagreed:

Once again, it’s draft day. This time, it’s for the Flyers and the rest of the NHL. The first round is tonight, and the Flyers also have two first round picks. They’ll select at 14 and 19.

One question surrounding the current crop of players is if Wayne Simmonds sticks around. His agent hopes so:

“He’s always wanted to be in Philly,” Simmonds’ agent, Eustace King, said Thursday; King is in Dallas for this weekend’s NHL draft. “He’s a key contributor to this team, and he has a lot of pride in being a Flyer.”

Simmonds, who will turn 30 on Aug. 26, has one year left on a contract that has a team-friendly $3.975 million annual cap hit. But trade rumors have swirled because he is due for a big raise after next season.

The Flyers have not yet had talks with King about a contract extension, but general manager Ron Hextall and the agent are expected to meet this weekend. King called it a “status update.”

Franco started just three of the previous 12 games before Crawford fractured his hand Tuesday night. Manager Gabe Kapler said last week that his optimal defensive alignment featured Crawford, a shortstop, playing third base and Scott Kingery, a second baseman, playing short. Now, Franco has been forced back into the fold and will get most of the reps at third base while Crawford is out.

“I have to keep positive, keep fighting, and moving forward,” Franco said. “That’s what you want when you’re going for something that you want. I understand the situation, and I don’t want to just sit down and not do anything.”

Franco went 0 for 4 on Wednesday in his first start since Crawford moved to the disabled list. He is batting just .179 with two homers and a .235 on-base percentage over 102 plate appearances since May 10. He has struggled to reach base — Franco has the fourth-lowest on-base percentage among all third basemen — and it was those struggles that sent him to the bench.

“On-base percentage is a real thing,” Kapler said. “Batting average is great, but every time you get on base and you’re not making an out, you’re successful. We don’t measure baseball games with time. We measure them with outs, so the fewer outs we can make, the better. If Maikel can get on base more frequently, then he’s going to be a better baseball player.”

With Crawford out, the Phillies are looking at some veteran players. Manny Machado has been linked to the team for quite some time, but a new player has emerged:

The Phillies also have interest in Beltre, sources say, as much for his professionalism as his production. The Phils have the youngest group of position players in the Majors, and team officials see long-term value in Beltre’s influence on an emerging core. Plus, the recent injury to J.P. Crawford has opened up more at-bats on the infield.

Nothing notable for the Eagles as the wait for training camp continues. Jon Dorenbos did get his Super Bowl ring, as promised.

One of the team’s games will be a little easier. Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston was handed a three-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The Eagles play the Bucs in Week 2.

Sebastian Le Toux’s induction into the Union Ring of Honor is tomorrow afternoon. Get tickets from our friends at Ticket IQ!

In other sports news, the FIFA World Cup continued as Denmark and Australia drew to a 1-1 result, France eliminated Peru with a 1-0 win, and Croatia stunner Messi and Argentina with a dominating 3-0 result. France and Croatia also advanced to the Round of 16.

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Chris is the Morning Roundup writer on Crossing Broad. He recently graduated from Syracuse University and was the video coordinator for the men's lacrosse team. He's previously covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7 and KYW Newsradio 1060. Chris is also a Production Assistant at ESPN and the Managing Editor for the college lacrosse website College Crosse.